


Falling

by glass_fossa



Series: Best Boy [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Anxiety, Getting Together, Kuroo is an anxious mess in this, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:14:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22783105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glass_fossa/pseuds/glass_fossa
Summary: Kuroo swallowed thickly; he was four years into his crush and he kept hoping he had reached the furthest depths, but somehow, somehow, Bokuto kept managing to pull him in deeper.Before it had just been an inconvenience, being in love with his best friend. But recently it had started to hurt. It had gone from a racing heart to an uncomfortable tightness in his chest, from a shortness of breath to a complete lack of it.
Relationships: Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou
Series: Best Boy [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1637698
Comments: 12
Kudos: 119





	Falling

Kuroo envied Bokuto. He could be so unaware, so unbothered by the ways other people felt about him, the passing looks others gave. Kuroo was painfully aware of each glance in his direction, spending hours a day over-analyzing, breaking down each of his interactions into their smallest parts.

He was glad Bokuto could be oblivious sometimes. Both for his own well-being and for the benefit of their friendship.

Otherwise, he definitely would have noticed; all the lingering glances, the light blushes, the slight stutters in Kuroo's words. Kuroo had spent years perfecting his unaffected air, the bravado he used to shield the more vulnerable parts of himself. But around Bokuto, so much of it failed him, and more and more he was left exposing parts of himself he wasn't comfortable with anyone seeing.

Bokuto didn't seem to notice, though. And Kuroo wasn't sure if he was glad for that or if he felt hurt by it.

Bokuto was buzzing around the party in his typical extroverted manner, Kuroo leaning against the wall in a corner, sipping on his drink slowly as he watched his friend chatter happily. Somehow the dim light only enhanced the brillance of Bokuto's eyes, and the fairy lights hung around the living room created a soft halo of light around his hair that had Kuroo's heart skipping far too many beats.

Kuroo swallowed thickly; he was four years into his crush and he kept hoping he had reached the furthest depths, but somehow, _somehow_ , Bokuto kept managing to pull him in deeper.

Before it had just been an inconvenience, being in love with his best friend. But recently it had started to hurt. It had gone from a racing heart to an uncomfortable tightness in his chest, from a shortness of breath to a complete lack of it.

Kuroo watched Bokuto's head tip back in a loud laugh, the guy standing next to him grinning salaciously. Suddenly his head was swimming in a terrifying way. Kuroo pushed away from the wall, shoving his way through the thick crowd of college students to try and get to the bathroom before he embarrassed himself.

He made it in, shutting the door just in time to collapse into a seat on the floor, pulling his knees up to his chest, trying to find his breath again. He shouldn't have come, he shouldn't have come, _he shouldn't have come_.

His spiraling thoughts were interrupted by the handle clicking, Kuroo's voice rough from starting to cry as he spoke up, "Someone's in here..."

The door opened anyway, shutting again quickly. Kuroo jolted when he felt hands set softly on his knees, looking up to see Bokuto kneeling in front of him, face dark with worry, "Kuroo, hey, are you okay? I saw you run off..."

Kuroo's eyes darted down to Bokuto's hands, rubbing small circles on his knees and he had to squeeze his eyes shut tight, feeling the betraying sting of tears. "M'fine..."

"Come on, man...you're obviously not fine...want me to take you home?"

He hiccupped softly as he took a few minutes to catch his breath, finally opening his eyes when he had some control over it again, "N-no, I'm fine. I can get myself home. You stay and have fun."

A heavy frown pulled at both corners of Bokuto's mouth, "How am I supposed to have fun when I know my best bro is miserable? I dunno what's goin' on, but I'm not leaving you alone, Kuroo." Bokuto stood, offering both hands to Kuroo, "C'mon. We can get some takeout on the way back to your place, yeah? Watch one of those shitty horror movies you love."

Kuroo sniffed, trying his best to smile, "...you mean one of the ones that make you nearly wet your pants?"

"Yeah, one of those, smartass. C'mon."

His hands were shaking slightly when he set them in Bokuto's, but his friend steadied them instantly by squeezing tightly, pulling him up to stand. Bokuto wrapped an arm around Kuroo right away, obviously not planning on letting him out of his sight for even a moment.

They wandered out of the party and into the night in silence, Bokuto leading Kuroo down the street, encouraging Kuroo to lean into him as they walked. Kuroo let his head fall onto his friend's shoulder, staying that way as they entered a nearby conbini, grabbing snacks before heading to his dorm.

Somehow they made it all the way back and onto the bed without saying a word, Kuroo's laptop sat on Bokuto's thighs, playing a low budget horror film as they snacked. Finally, about forty minutes in Bokuto broke the silence, his voice soft and tone reassuring, "...you wanna talk about it?"

"...I dunno."

"It's okay if you don't. I know you don't always know why your anxiety gets bad."

"It's not, I..." Kuroo lifted his head from his friend's shoulder, rubbing at his face.

Bokuto reached out to gently grab one of Kuroo's wrists, "Hey, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to upset you again..." Bokuto's face twisted into panic as he realized Kuroo was crying again, "Oh _shit_ , I am seriously the worst friend, Tetsu, I'm so sorry."

Kuroo choked out a sob, "N-no, you're...an amazing friend and t-that's the problem..."

"Kuroo...?"

There were still wet marks on his cheeks, the rims of his eyes red as he pulled his hands away to look at his friend. "I can't...I'm not good at this. At hiding things. It's too hard."

"Kuroo, what're you talking about?"

"I'm sorry, Bo...I...I like you."

"Well yeah, of course, you like me. You're my best friend."

"No, Bo. I _like_ you..."

Bokuto's eyes widened, a breathy ' _oh_ ' falling from his lips. Suddenly his face felt as hot as Kuroo's looked, cheeks burning from the revelation.

"It...it's okay, Bo. I know you don't feel the same, and I'm...please, I don't want this to make things weird I just, I couldn't just stuff it down anymore, I'm really so-"

Kuroo's panicked apology was silenced by a set of full lips pressing against his own. It took a few uneven beats of his heart to realize what was happening; Bokuto was kissing him.

Bokuto was _kissing_ him.

Bokuto was kissing _him_.

He had the brief thought that passing out during their first kiss would be _unbelievably_ embarrassing, but it was quickly approaching being a reality, his breath fully caught, lungs refusing to work. Luckily Bokuto pulled away before he could slump over in a lifeless heap.

Bokuto's hands came up to cup Kuroo's face, thumbs rubbing on his cheeks. He smiled, "You shoulda told me sooner."

"What?"

"I've had a crush on you since like, the first year of high school, man...'Kaashi has been giving me shit for years about being too scared to say anything."

Kuroo felt relief flood his body, slumping forward with a groan, forehead resting against Bokuto's shoulder, "...are you for real...I...I've been _so_ into you for like, four years, Bo..."

Bokuto laughed loudly, "Man. We're _dumb_."

A snort escaped Kuroo as he started to laugh with Bokuto, finally feeling a lightness in his chest after months of increasing heaviness. He felt Bokuto's arms wind around him, holding him in place.

"Hey, Tetsu. Can I take you on a date some time?"

"Please. _Please_ , take me on a date. I don't care if it's just to the corner store. You can buy me conbini sushi and I'll think it's the best date ever."

"Setting the bar _real_ low, huh?" Bokuto laughed, "Hey, gimmie more credit than that. I've got moooves~"

Kuroo raised his head just in time to see Bokuto wiggling his brows and grinning. Kuroo laughed again, feeling Bokuto lean in to press a kiss to his nose. "Yeah, well, guess we'll see about that, mister smooth."

Kuroo and Bokuto fell asleep slumped against one another not long after, movie credits rolling on the laptop screen without their attention. Before passing out they'd both managed to send texts, Kuroo to Kenma, and Bokuto to Akaashi.

Their phones were both buzzing at the edge of the bed unnoticed, dual messages from Kenma and Akaashi very simply reading: 'Finally'.

**Author's Note:**

> Kuroo is my best boy & I decided to start exploring all the ships, both popular & rare, I can squeeze him into
> 
> Come chat with me about Kuroo (or your fav Kuroo ships!) any time you like - @jenna_what on twitter!


End file.
